Western-backed Syrian opposition says US should hit Assad, not just Islamic State group

Turkish soldiers stand as Syrian refugees wait for permission to enter Turkey at the Yumurtalik crossing gate near Suruc, Turkey, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2014. More than 200,000 people fleeing the Islamic militants’ advance on Kobani, Syria, arrived in Turkey during last five days to find safety.(AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici) (The Associated Press)

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Thousands of Syrian refugees enter Turkey at Yumurtalik crossing gate near Suruc, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014. Refugees streaming into Turkey from Syria say their home city, once bustling with 400,000 citizens, has become a ghost town, emptied of all people but a few thousand fighters trying to hold off an onslaught by Islamic militants. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici) (The Associated Press)

Syrian refugees wait for permission to enter Turkey at Yumurtalik crossing gate near Suruc, Turkey, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2014. More than 200,000 people fleeing the Islamic militantsí advance on Kobani, Syria, arrived in Turkey during the last five days to find safety.(AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici) (The Associated Press)

BEIRUT – The Western-backed Syrian political opposition is criticizing U.S.-led airstrikes in Syria for focusing on the Islamic State group and other extremists while leaving President Bashar Assad's government untouched.

Syrian National Coalition chief Nasr al-Hariri says it regrets that the "international community has come up with partial solutions to the Syrian conflict in which hundreds of thousands were killed or detained by the Assad regime."

In a Coalition statement released on Wednesday, al-Hariri also said that any effort other than helping Syrians overthrow Assad will only further fuel extremism.

The United States and its Arab allies began an air campaign early Tuesday that aims to destroy the Islamic State group in Syria. The U.S. also struck the al-Qaida-affiliated Nusra Front.